Blackbird

by D T Dyllin

  “Noah.” I leaned into him and whispered, “I know what’ll make us both feel better.”

  “Mmmm?” He made a noncommittal sound.

  “Yeah, if you fuck me.” I gyrated against him roughly.

  “Kyle—”

  My head spun suddenly and I lolled to the side. Noah clutched at me, keeping me upright. My vision darkened, and bile rose up to burn in my chest. In the back of my mind, I knew I was acting the fool, and yes, drunk. Shame washed over me. “I just wanna go to sleep,” I mumbled, curling up against Noah and trying to bring my feet into his lap.

  “Come here.” Noah laid me down on the seat and slipped my shoes off, picked me back up, and cradled me to his chest.

  I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, attempting to keep the tequila in my stomach where it belonged. Nuzzling into Noah’s chest, I tried imagining that my world wasn’t spinning. “Tequila bad,” I muttered, wringing a chuckle out of Noah.

  “Yeah, darlin’, it was tonight.”

  “I’m sorry, Noah. Don’t stop loving me ‘cause I’m an asshole.”

  Noah caressed the side of my cheek. “Just as long as you don’t stop lovin’ me because I’m an asshole.”

  “Psst—you’re not. I am. I called it first. I guess I just got upset because of that stupid blonde bitch I saw you with.”

  “What are you talkin’ ‘bout?”

  “The stupid blonde bitch—it pissed me off that you smiled at her. I—I got jealous. Then I just wanted to have fun. I guess I got carried away. Maybe I was just freaking out—the whole blackbird thing—and the mirror.” I wasn’t entirely sure I was making full coherent sentences anymore.

  “Shhh…darlin’. Just go to sleep. I got you.”

  I nodded against his chest. Sleep sounded really good, especially in Noah’s strong arms. My mind swirled in about a hundred different directions at once. Images from the evening playing in vivid color behind my closed eyes. Things were distorted—wrong. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was forgetting something important. Before I could figure it out, I passed out cold.

  29

  ~Noah

  Kyle continued mumbling against my chest, the sentences making less and less sense since she was fading fast. The effects of the tequila hadn’t worn off for me completely, but I was centered again, calm. I had a happy glow as opposed to Kyle’s sloppy drunk. I’d managed to talk myself off the panic attack ledge in record time. I was pretty sure it had something to do with Kyle waiting on me.

  I gazed down at her. She was curled up in a fetal position against my chest. Her short skirt had ridden up to expose a little black thong. It was torture seeing the tiny scrap of fabric, the only thing covering her soft, pink flesh, and not being able to do anything about it. Kyle was too drunk for anything, even consciousness, at the moment. How did things get away from me so quickly? This is not how the evening was supposed to end.

  Kyle abruptly flung her head back, her large green eyes meeting mine. “She needs you, Noah.”

  More drunk ramblings? It was almost always easier to play along with Kyle. “Who?”

  “Me. Her. Her is me. Me is her. And she needs you.”

  I raised my eyebrows and tried not to laugh. Talking in third person was a new one for Kyle. “I’m here for her. I’m never letting her go again.”

  She nodded solemnly, pressing her face back into my chest. She mumbled against my shirt, “Good, because things are changing. I don’t know why, and I don’t know if…” Her words trailed off as she fell asleep.

  “Everything okay back there, chief?”

  “Yeah, she’s out.” Billy nodded at me in the rearview mirror. I shifted to get more comfortable, and Kyle clutched at my shirt in her sleep. I tightened my grip on her, wishing I never had to let her go. After Kyle’s OD and then tonight, how quickly she’d been throwing back the tequila, I had to wonder, was rehab the way to go for her? I hated even thinking it, but it was unavoidable. She had issues she wasn’t coping with, things that were way over my head. I just wanted to see her happy and healthy again. I’d have to think seriously about what was best for her. Maybe now she’d lay low for more than a day to recuperate. This time I’d force her. There’s a difference between being mean and being an enabler.

  I closed my eyes for a second. The door opening jolted me awake. Billy slid Kyle from my arms before I could stop him.

  “Come on, let’s get you both in the house and in bed.”

  “I don’t need your help with her,” I growled.

  Billy raised his eyebrows. “You don’t? Because I’m thinking you both need some help if tonight was any indication.”

  I ran my hand over my face and glanced away. “Yeah, okay, maybe you’re right. Kyle and I have a lot of issues to work out both separately and together.”

  “My mom was an alcoholic,” Billy stated, matter of factly, as he carried Kyle into the house. When I didn’t say anything he continued. “Don’t enable Kylie, it doesn’t make things better.”

  “She’s not an alcoholic,” I immediately protested. Of course, hadn’t I just been thinking about rehab for her? And the fact that I’d enabled her because I didn’t want to be mean? If she wasn’t already an addict she certainly was on the road to being one. I ground my teeth together. “Sorry, man, I’m just—”

  “Protective of her. I get it.” He set her on the bed. “You need any help with anything before I head out?”

  “No. Just set the code and lock the door before you leave. Make sure the cameras are—”

  “As if you have to ask for those things,” he said, cutting me off. “I mean help with anything else.”

  “No, I’m good.” Billy turned to leave. “Hey,” I called after him. “Thanks, man. I appreciate all you do for me.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m asking for a huge Christmas bonus.” He shut the door and left me alone with Kyle in our bedroom. Billy was joking but I would definitely be giving him a huge bonus. He deserved every penny of it. He was more than an employee. He was a friend, all my men were. Maybe I should make Billy a partner. That was something I needed to put some serious consideration into, Billy deserved more than what I was currently giving him. Plus he didn’t have the same issues as me. PTSD didn’t hold him back from situations like it did me. And with Kyle being back in my life I was going to want to spend more time with her and less at work. I was going to have to rejigger my entire life. Not that I would mind in the slightest if it means I get Kyle.

  “Noah,” Kyle moaned, flailing around on the bed, searching for me with her eyes shut.

  I leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “Shhh…darlin’. I got you. I’m right here.” Her arms found my neck and tightened as she tried to pull me onto the bed with her. I pried her fingers loose, letting her slump back down into the comforter. She moaned my name again and rolled over onto her side, curling into a ball.

  I hurried into the kitchen and grabbed some bottles of water for us, pausing to open and chug one before I returned to the bedroom. I also grabbed a bucket out of the laundry room, because better safe than sorry.

  The sound of retching filled the house. “Fuck!” I hurried back to Kyle but it was too late. She’d puked all over the floor by the bed and on herself. If only the bucket had been there it wouldn’t have been quite as bad. A day late and a dollar short. Fuuuck. I ran my hands through my hair and pulled, staring at the toxic mess that reeked of alcohol.

  I was going to have to clean Kyle and the floor up before we went to bed. I marched into the bathroom and started filling the tub. It would be a hell of a lot easier than a shower with Kyle being dead weight. While the tub filled I stripped Kyle. “This is not what I had in mind when I pictured gettin’ you naked tonight,” I grumbled under my breath. It just wasn’t right. My cock throbbed as if protesting what it knew it was missing out on. “I know, buddy, it’s a damn shame.” What the fuck? Am I talking out loud to my dick now? I rolled my eyes at myself.

  “All right, darlin’,” I said, holding Kyle up with on
e arm wrapped around her, as I reached down to turn off the faucet. “We’re gonna get you all cleaned up.” I lifted her and gently placed her down in the tub. I’d been careful not to fill it too high so I wouldn’t drown her. Kyle’s head slumped forward and I swore. Because she was complete dead weight, the shallow water didn’t seem to help all that much. I was going to have to get in with her.

  I lifted her back out of the tub and placed her gently on the bathmat. I grimaced. I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t keep her afloat, shallow water or not, while I got undressed.

  I stripped as quickly as I could, deciding to leave my prosthetic on. I was going to need the balance. Taking a bath with it wasn’t the best idea, but again, I had little choice. I’d worry about the consequences later. The important thing was taking care of Kyle.

  I scooped her up and slid into the warm water. She nuzzled my chest and wriggled her ass, which did not help my state of arousal, one little bit. I began scrubbing her, the clean scent of my soap filling my nostrils as I tried not to think about how gloriously naked Kyle was, which was more difficult now that she no longer smelled like a distillery exploded on her. Not that my dick seemed to care either way since I was already rock hard.

  This is going to be more difficult than I thought.

  30

  ~Kylie

  My head was no longer spinning, but I was still tired, my eyes were glued shut. Warm water sloshed over my skin, lapping at me in a sensual way. I inhaled Noah’s spicy scent, the aroma both comforting and arousing. I imagined lying on a beach somewhere, the waves crashing around us as he made love to me slowly, his hands and mouth worshipping me. My pulse pounded between my legs and I wriggled, wanting—needing Noah inside of me.

  “Ah, come on, if you don’t stop that, I’m not gonna be responsible for my actions. A man can only take so much.”

  What was Noah talking about? I pushed the confusion aside, not particularly caring. “I need you,” I forced my lips to say. “Please, Noah.”

  “Kyle? You even know what you’re sayin’ right now? I’m not gonna fuck you while you’re like this. No matter how much I want to.” He mumbled the last part under his breath.

  “Like what?” My hands slid over wet skin, hot and taut muscles bunching from the contact. “I need you inside of me. Now.”

  Noah groaned long and deep. “You have a way of testin’ a man’s restraint. Always have.”

  I finally managed to peel my eyelids open. I squinted at the brightness. We were in the bathtub together, both of us naked. Perfect. I awkwardly moved around so I was facing Noah, using his shoulders to stabilize me. I peered down into his stormy eyes, his face strained with tension. I rose up to straddle his hips. Without a word I reached down, holding his thick length steady, and slammed myself onto him. His hands instantly went around my waist to keep me from falling backwards since I arched my body with such force. I stopped moving for a second, reveling in the feel of him filling me up. I crept my fingers behind me to dig into his thighs as I began to undulate against him.

  “Fuck,” he ground out.

  I smiled, sliding my eyes shut once more. The water slapped the sides of the tub as I slowly rode Noah. No one had ever made me feel the way he did. No one ever filled me up so perfectly. Overwhelming sadness washed over me, threatening to drown me in its dark depths. I wished I’d never been with anyone else besides Noah. Looking back at our years apart made me want to weep. He should have been my first, my last…my only. Instead we’d both let our youth-branded stupidity get in the way.

  Waves of pleasure steered my emotional upheaval in the direction of jubilant. Noah and I were together again, he was inside me, and I was about to—“I love you,” I choked out as my body spasmed around him. Unable to move, Noah held me steady as he slammed up into me, once, twice, and was pulsing his own release.

  I leaned into Noah, curling against him while still perched on top of his cock. Exhaustion took hold. I sucked in a satisfied breath. I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

  I woke up with someone playing drums on my skull. I groaned, rolled over and reached blindly for the nightstand. Surely, Noah or myself had the forethought to put some water there. Sure enough, my fingers came into contact with ridged plastic. I fumbled a few seconds, the task proving to be difficult in my current state of hangover hell, before I managed to open the bottle and empty its contents into my stomach. I carefully laid my head back down on the pillow. My stomach grumbled. I wasn’t sure if I was hungry or going to throw up.

  I flopped over trying to get comfortable. I was at that horrible in-between stage where I wanted to go back to sleep but my head wasn’t letting me. “Noah,” I rasped, feeling for him. “Noah.”

  “Hmmm…” he grunted.

  I slitted my eyes to see him laying beside me spread eagle, and completely naked. What the hell happened last night? I searched my memory, the images coming back slowly. I cringed. I’d really made a mess of things. My cheeks heated with shame, making my head pound harder. I groaned and flopped back over in the other direction. I stayed there another few minutes before my stomach grumbled again. Yep, definitely hungry.

  I lurched from bed, paused to pull on Noah’s shirt from last night, and quickly surveyed the room… puke bucket, dirty sheets in a ball in the corner of the room, fresh sheets haphazardly on the bed, blinds drawn tight. Yep, things had gotten out of hand last night. I owed Noah big time for not only taking care of me but for putting up with me at all. Why do I keep doing jackassery shit when he’s around lately? It’s like I’m trying to sabotage myself.

  My headache receded a fraction, probably from the bottle of water I’d just chugged. I was dehydrated and hungry. I’d gotten beyond sloppy last night. I shuffled into the living room, temporarily blinded by the sun streaming through the big windows. I blinked at a large shadow—wait, no—there was a person sitting on the couch. I screamed.

  Noah came running out of the room, still strapping his prosthetic on, but completely naked. “Wha—”

  By this time my eyes focused and I realized the person on Noah’s couch was Billy. He was on his feet instantly with his hands raised in the air. “Calm down!” he shouted. “It’s just me!”

  Relief morphed to annoyance. “Why are you in the living room? On the couch?” I glanced at the TV. “Watching—” I squinted. “What the hell are you watching?”

  “River Monsters,” he mumbled. “I’m watching River Monsters. And how about you both put on some clothes before we talk.”

  I peered down at my bare legs and half buttoned up shirt. “Yeah, um, good idea.” I scuttled back into the bedroom with Noah close at my heels.

  “You scared the shit out of me,” he chastised.

  “I’m sorry.” I fished a pair of lounge pants out of my suitcase and slipped them on.

  “You’ll be sorry when I drop dead from a heart attack before I’m forty.”

  “Noah, shhhh. I wasn’t fully awake yet and the last thing I expected to see on the couch was a person.”

  He grunted something unintelligible before heading back out to talk to Billy. I scurried after him. “What do you mean there was a security breach?” Noah was demanding. A chill ran up my spine. I moved over to sit on the loveseat, my legs no longer stable.

  “It was about three hours after I left. Someone broke one of the windows upstairs, setting off the silent alarm. I immediately rushed back here. When you didn’t answer your phone, I got nervous, let myself in. You both were secure in the bedroom with the door locked until I opened it. I investigated the disturbance. The window in your computer room was smashed…but from the inside. Someone used your baseball bat to do it. Upon further investigation I discovered that all the mirrors in the rest of the house were broken. No sign of the perpetrator was found.”

  “What’d we get on the surveillance?” Noah demanded.

  “Nothing. Somehow they got in the house without being detected.”

  “How is that possible?” I squeaked.

  “Don’
t know,” Billy snapped. “I waited here the rest of the night just in case.” He ran a hand over his bald head. “Hell, I don’t even know what I was waiting for but this whole thing is starting to creep me out.”

  “Don’t start that stupid superstitious shit again.”

  “Paranormal phenomenon is real,” Billy said, his eyes slightly wider than normal. If I didn’t know better I would have said he was afraid, but of course I knew better. A guy like Billy didn’t believe in ghosts, right?

  “I’m not buyin’ it,” Noah ground out, his jaw working as he stared down Billy. It was if he was trying to force the fear out of him by sheer will. “There’s an explanation, we just haven’t figured it out yet.”

  “I don’t know,” I mumbled. “I’ve seen some weird shit at hotels and at old concert venues when I’ve been on the road. The kind of shit that can’t be explained by logic.”

  “See, she believes something isn’t right too.” Billy stared at Noah, waiting.

  “Not you too,” Noah said to me without even sparing me a glance.

  “Hey, I didn’t say that what happened last night was poltergeist material, I’m just saying that there are some things out there that the only explanation is—”

  “I’m goin’ to see Conner Vreck,” Noah announced.

  “Like hell you are!” I jumped up to stand in front of him. “Why? What would be the point?”

  Noah’s eyes were dark, tumultuous, when they met mine. “It’s time we get proactive ‘bout this. I thought that’s what you wanted? Someone knows entirely too much ‘bout you. The press never knew ‘bout the whole blackbird thing in relations to Conner Vreck. Whoever is harassin’ you is connected to Vreck somehow. Whether it’s a copycat who liked his style or—”

  “It’s not connected, Noah. He’s been in jail.”

  “He’s permitted visitors, darlin’. It’s not like he’s on death row. Hell, he’s not even in maximum security. Maybe someone admires him. Conner Vreck isn’t the only one who has issues out there.”